There are many causes for wrongful conviction. Some are caused by honest mistakes. In these situations, the person who ended up being the cause held no malice towards the person who was wrongfully convicted. However, there are some instances where they purposefully did something to cause the conviction. Either they covered up something that could have proven the person’s innocence or they slandered them by telling everyone what they had supposedly done until everyone—the press, the community, the police—believed that they had actually done it. Sometimes, the people who do those things are the ones who are supposed to be trying to find the truth and bring justice to the victim, such as law enforcement officers and prosecutors. Throughout
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There are forms that take place in as many non-death penalty cases as they do in death penalty cases: racial bias in regards to jury selection, eliciting information that was or should have been excluded, and a failure to reveal exculpatory evidence (Minsker, 2009). However, there are some forms of misconduct which are more likely to appear in death penalty cases. They are the manipulation of evidence, misleading jurors of legal requirements for finding a defendant deserving of the death penalty, and manipulating the jurors so that they are more likely to vote for death (Minsker, …show more content…
In death penalty cases, prosecutors face an intense pressure to not only produce a conviction, but to get a death sentence as well (Minsker, 2009). The reason is that these cases tend to be high profile, meaning that the public is watching the prosecutor, expecting to see the defendant convicted and put to death (Minsker, 2009). With these cases, the role of the prosecutor goes beyond just presenting evidence and allowing jurors to come up with an appropriate sentence (Minsker, 2009). The prosecutor is expected to support a sentence to death (Minsker, 2009). Therefore, regarding death penalty cases, the prosecutors only “win” if the jury decides to go for a death sentence (Minsker,
There are forms that take place in as many non-death penalty cases as they do in death penalty cases: racial bias in regards to jury selection, eliciting information that was or should have been excluded, and a failure to reveal exculpatory evidence (Minsker, 2009). However, there are some forms of misconduct which are more likely to appear in death penalty cases. They are the manipulation of evidence, misleading jurors of legal requirements for finding a defendant deserving of the death penalty, and manipulating the jurors so that they are more likely to vote for death (Minsker, …show more content…
In death penalty cases, prosecutors face an intense pressure to not only produce a conviction, but to get a death sentence as well (Minsker, 2009). The reason is that these cases tend to be high profile, meaning that the public is watching the prosecutor, expecting to see the defendant convicted and put to death (Minsker, 2009). With these cases, the role of the prosecutor goes beyond just presenting evidence and allowing jurors to come up with an appropriate sentence (Minsker, 2009). The prosecutor is expected to support a sentence to death (Minsker, 2009). Therefore, regarding death penalty cases, the prosecutors only “win” if the jury decides to go for a death sentence (Minsker,